Hamburger Schule

The Hamburger Schule (German for 'Hamburg School') is a musical current in Germany during the 1980s and early 1990s. With some active bands and artists it is still present. It encompasses elements from punk, grunge and experimental pop, and intellectual lyrics. It established new grounds for the use of German language in pop music.

As the name indicates, the movement was initially carried by Hamburg based bands like Cpt. Kirk &., Kolossale Jugend, Ostzonensuppenwürfelmachenkrebs, Die Erde, Blumfeld, Selig, , Die Sterne, Huah!, and Die Goldenen Zitronen. Their music didn't necessarily sound similar, but was characterised by lyrics in German language (not a given in Germany) that gave voice to social criticism and were based on post-modern theory. Consequently, it was lauded by the leftist trade press (especially Spex magazine). The artists themselves didn't initially perceive these similarities to be particularly important and denied the existence of a homogeneous movement. However, social links and political cooperations suggest that it wasn't unreasonable to view it as that. Furthermore, it could be surmised that the term Hamburger Schule is a pun on the so-called Frankfurter Schule ('Frankfurt School') which is a school of neo-Marxist social theory, social research, and philosophy, centered at the Institute for Social Research (Institut für Sozialforschung) of the University of Frankfurt am Main in Germany. However, it seems more likely to be simply a clever knock at the need for legitimacy, by referencing the way all art movements are titled in German (e.g. Wiener Schule, , Österreichische Schule, New Yorker Schule, etc.).

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